Snapshots of Prom Night
by ShowBones
Summary: Nick never wanted to go to prom, but after learning that Macy Misa was suddenly dateless, he made sure he'd be her Knight in Shining Armor... but of course, sweeping a girl off her feet isn't the easiest thing to do. NACY. Rating will mature in later ch.


_**Disclaimer: **This is just a fanfiction story. Also,__ the content rating will likely mature to "T" in later chapters__.  
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_**Summary:**__ Nick never wanted to go to prom, but after learning that Macy Misa was suddenly dateless, he made sure he'd be her Knight in Shining Armor... but of course, sweeping a girl off her feet isn't the easiest thing to do. - __This is a story about Nick Lucas and his random yet endearing attempts to cheer up his best friend on her prom night.  
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SNAPSHOTS OF PROM NIGHT** - **CHAPTER 1****  


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It's not like Nick planned on this. On the contrary, Nick wanted to be as far away as possible. It took everything he had to stomach the prom talk everyone at school fed him for nearly two months now. It even got to the point where he was unwillingly dreaming about it.

_'Nick, what do you think of the theme?' 'Nick, what color dress do you think I should wear?' 'Who are your brothers going to prom with, Nick?' 'Why aren't you going to prom?' 'Nick, why don't you go to prom with so-and-so?' 'Nick, why don't you go to prom with me?' 'Where do you think we should eat, Nick?' 'Should we get a limo?' 'Should I eat a salad?' 'Hey, Nick, how do you put on this tie?'_

Nick purposefully avoided "the big day" by agreeing to do band stuff – solo interviews on the behalf of his band (as his brothers were busy getting ready) and schmoozing up to some label executives over lunch in New York with his dad. He hoped that by the time he'd get home, his brothers would be gone and his mother would be drained of all excitement. Frankie might be too busy messing with Kevin's things to pester Nick, and as a result he would be able to spend a peaceful evening at home – completely stress free.

However, the fact that he was _now_ approaching Macy's door was a _definite_ sign of his plan not playing out like he'd hoped.

By the time Nick arrived home, he was surprised to see his brothers on the couch and looking bummed, with their mother taking pictures even despite their lack of enthusiasm.

"Why are you guys still home?" Nick asked with a raised brow, walking over to stuff his leftovers from lunch in the fridge. "Shouldn't you be picking up Stella and Danielle?"

Ignoring the flashes from their mother's camera, Kevin shrugged, "Can't. Stella's not home yet."

"Because she's still at Macy's," Joe finished.

Nick had pause to clear his throat. He then turned to lean against the counter and casually urged them on, "so? Isn't she going with you guys? Her and… what's-his-face?"

Joe shook his head, flipping his bangs out of his eyes in the process as he answered as-a-matter-o-factly, "not anymore."

"Yeah dude. That Greg guy? Totally blew Macy off for his ex-girlfriend today. He called her _three hours _ago to tell her she wasn't his date anymore. She's been crying to Stella ever since."

As Kevin stood up, intending to join Nick at the counter, it didn't take more than a few seconds for the younger one to snap out of his thoughts and rush out of the front door without another word, snatching his car keys off the wall in one swipe along the way.

And not surprisingly, Nick eventually found himself where he'd been standing for at least five minutes - outside of Macy's bedroom – unable to raise his fist to the door – and undoubtedly sweating bullets.

In his defense, he was still sweating from having _somehow_ survived a grueling interrogation by Macy's intimidatingly large father – who, by the way, was convinced _Nick_ was the one who tried to dump his precious daughter on such an important day of her high school career. Never mind the fact that Macy was only a sophomore and had two more chances to go to prom – her father could not tolerate the fact that a boy made her cry or that she was crying at all (Nick quickly realized that her father refused to be within 10 feet of her door – "Ugh, all this _crying_" Mr. Misa would say, so at least Nick was safe where he was).

On the other hand, Macy's mother was sure Nick would be her daughter's savior. He'd only met Macy's mother once before, and that was when he gave her a ride home after one of her basketball matches. It was a chance encounter, yes, (apparently boys rarely ever walked girls to their doorstep anymore) but her Mother swooned over his gesture. "You're such a sweet boy," her mother said. "What's your name again?"

It was a large pill for Nick to swallow – the fact that he'd arrived at Macy's house purely on instinct – and now that reality was setting in he found himself caught up in a complete mess of nerves.

Who was he to think he could be a hero on her prom night?

"Oh, Nathan. Just go on in!" Macy's mother insisted as she stepped out from around the corner of the hall, where she'd apparently been hiding and watching. "Macy will be happy to see you."

"Um, actually, Mrs. Misa… my name is Nick?"

"Yeah yeah," Mrs. Misa urged, knocking on the door for him before opening it and pushing him in, "just go, Mick. Just go."

And then came the sniffling. "Ma?" A familiar voice asked.

Before Nick knew it, he was shoved into Macy's room with the door closing swiftly behind him. There was no turning back now. He was sure of it. He tried to turn around and open the door again but the door wouldn't budge; he guessed that Macy's mother really believed in him.

"Ma? Is that you?"

Nick spun around again, just in time to catch Macy's eyes as she stepped out from her bathroom with a tissue covering half of her face. Though her eyes were red and wide, tears ceased to fall, and the way Macy blew her nose into her tissue (half out of shock, half out of needing to do so) could not distract him from staring as if she was the only thing to be seen.

Macy was still wearing her dress, the electric blue one she wore to their last school dance a few months back (and _boy_ did she look good in his favorite color) and the one Nick thought he'd never hear the end of. Stella constantly protested Macy's decision to re-wear an outfit since she heard about it, but Macy insisted, '_Greg said it was pretty,_' and she wanted to make him happy.

Upon that realization, Nick wasn't sure how to feel – glad that she wore a dress that he, too, loved on her, or irritated to know she wore it for another guy.

"Your… mom said you'd be here." Nick said stupidly, unable to utter a better conversation-starter than that.

Luckily, Macy didn't send him running. Rather, she sighed as she tossed her tissue into the waste bin, only to listlessly move across the room and sit on her bed. "Yeah, well. Here I am. I've been here all day, and will probably spend the rest of the day here too."

Macy's shoulders slouched as the curls of her hair fell forward. He could no longer see her frowning, but it was probably for the better anyway. If she were to cry in front of him now Nick was sure he'd have to leave and give Greg a piece of his mind.

Nonetheless, he wasn't sure what to do _here_. You couldn't blame the guy for lacking any comforting experience – especially for a girl, and in this kind of situation. Macy was despondent, and although he cringed every time she beamed at the mention of prom (up until the day itself, of course) he figured he should _at least _suck up any grudges he had in favor of cheering his friend up.

Carefully, Nick walked over and took a seat next to Macy. He was quiet at first, rubbing the back of his neck and nervously glancing around the room (because holy cow - sitting in a room filled with posters of him and his brothers was _definitely_ weird), but eventually he was able to gather the courage to say, "well… your dad's pissed."

_Idiot._

Macy cracked a small laugh and shook her head, "yeah. I'm surprised you even made it down the hallway."

"Your mother's very persistent."

Macy laughed again. "That she is."

…And then there was another silence. An awkward silence, but this time Nick let it go. He figured Macy needed her time to gather her thoughts.

"Look at me, Nick," Macy finally spoke up. Her hands brushed over her dress, only to fall past her knees as she slouched even more, "I look so pathetic."

"No you don't," Nick said, glancing over before leaning back on his hands. He had to admit that even despite her lack of posture; she looked rather… breath taking.

"Yes I do. Even when Stella was here, she said it was such a waste – me wearing this dress and getting all dolled-up. I mean, I did all of this… just to get shot down at the last minute."

Pulling Macy's bed sheets into his fist, Nick had to take in a careful breath before shaking his head in protest, "Really, Macy. You shouldn't say things like that… in fact, Stella shouldn't have said that." Nick then paused, cautiously examining the room again. "She's… not here, still… right?"

With a lousy shrug, Macy muttered, "She left a half hour ago. I begged her to leave 'cause I didn't want to ruin her prom night… or Joe's… or Kevin's… or Dani's… oh _gosh_, I was really looking forward to going with them…"

Macy went on, and Nick could sense she was fighting back tears. Really, how could he just sit back and listen?

Furrowing his brows, Nick dared to pull Macy into him as his arm wrapped around her shoulder. He tried to be gentle, of course, because it was Macy after all and he didn't want to ruin her outfit or makeup (he didn't know the extent to which girls put their make-up on, of course, so he was just being safe). Furthermore, he didn't want her to notice the damp evidence of his nervousness when he was standing outside of her room; he was sure his white dress shirt was still showing signs of it. "You're not pathetic, Mace. And Greg? Well… he's a jerk. I'd say he's the one who's missing out, here."

_Wait, is that saying too much?_

"Yeah but how will he know? How will anyone know? I mean, I don't know why I'm keeping this thing on. There's no point. And no point for the stupid boutonnière I bought for him…"

"Give it to me," Nick blurted, which surprised them both. _Damnit. You can't take your words back now!_ "Come hang out with me tonight. I'll be your date."

"Oh. Yeah, right. Sure. Uh huh. Nick Lucas – _of JONAS_, I might add - wants to be my date tonight. Mhm, sure."

Nick raised a brow, processed her sarcasm, and then truthfully repeated, "well, yeah… I do want to be your date tonight."

And then she tensed up. Completely frozen. Her eyes went wide and it looked as if she unknowingly committed murder. "…R-really?" She asked in disbelief. "But… you don't have tickets to prom. And we're sophomores. We're not allowed to go without a junior or senior date…"

"So what? We'll do something else then – something better."

Staring at Macy with a straight face, as opposed to looking just as panicked about the idea as he was feeling, took a lot of energy. Nick was sure he was about ready to pass out just from the way she stared back, but soon the slight smile that lifted from the corners of her lips told him things might work out after all. "You promise?"

"Of course," He nodded. "And… I know this is just a dress shirt, but if you want I can swing by my house and pick up a sports coat and a tie… try and look as classy as you and all." _Okay, Nick. Don't get all cheesy now._

"No – no. You look great." She assured, nodding. She had to take another second though, hands brushing over her slightly flushed cheeks and finger tips wiping at the corners of her eyes before she was able to take in a breath and stand. She stood up to grab the boutonnière off her desk before turning back, quickly sniffling away any lingering hints of sadness, then bashfully smiled and fidgeted around with the flower. "I know I bought this for Greg… but I'm sure it'll look much better on you, anyway… you really wanna wear it?"

Nick, in turn, casually shrugged. A part of him actually wanted to throw the damned thing out the window (_the last thing I want is to be a reminder of some jerk_) but he could not refuse such a genuine offer from someone like Macy Misa. His heart would not allow it. "Sure. But… are _you_ gonna be the one to pin it on me?"

She then smacked his shoulder with a laugh, "shut up and hold still."

_Yep. There's definitely no turning back now._

_..._

Nick thought he'd never leave Macy's house alive. Really. The way Mr. Misa stared him down while Macy's mother took pictures before they left was pretty much a death threat. Mr. Misa did not need words. His eyes said it all ("You hurt my daughter – I'll hurt _you_"). Luckily, Nick's mother taught him well, and he graciously stood beside Macy for the pictures and assured her father he'd have her home before dawn.

It took them an hour to even exit the house, but as soon as they did all Nick wanted to do was kiss the ground and thank the sky. "I'm really sorry about that," Macy blushed as they walked down the pathway and towards Nick's car. "I don't even know why my mom wants to take so many pictures – we're not going to prom. I told her that."

Nick reached the car first, and like any gentleman, unlocked Macy's door and waited for her to climb inside. "No need to apologize. She probably wanted to because you're dressed up and you look really…" _Don't blow it, Lucas. _"…gorgeous."

Pausing in front of the door, Macy's cheeks flushed a deeper shade of pink, but she smiled it off and curtsied a quick thank you. "That's very kind of you, Nick. I'm also sure she wanted to take pictures of me going out with someone who looks rather stunning himself."

_Going out?_ Nick thought. The possible meanings behind that phrase seemed endless.

With that said, Macy climbed into the car, and as Nick closed the door and headed for around for his side, he had to repeatedly remind himself to keep his cool. _Breathe, Nick, breathe. Calm yourself - you're probably as red as a strawberry by now. _A quick glance over at the front door – where Macy's mother continued to take pictures and where Mr. Misa continued to stare him down – was enough to keep his thoughts from running too far.

"I'm going to want to see these pictures on Monday, you know," Nick chuckled as he climbed in and buckled up, starting his car and waving to her parents one last time.

"Oh just be quiet and let's get out of here," Macy urged, faking a smile and desperately trying to wave off her parents as the two pulled away from the sidewalk.

The car ride was quiet at first, but it didn't bother Nick at all. In fact, Nick was still trying to catch up with reality. It took only a couple of stop signs and stop lights for him to realize that Macy was in the car with him – dressed in her stunning blue cocktail dress – and he had no idea what he was going to do to make this night special for her.

Why didn't he give this more thought?

"So…" Nick began, forcing himself to keep focused on the road as he knew glancing over would only distract him, "…I didn't, you know… plan anything…"

_Again – with the idiotic comments._

Macy shrugged and kept her eyes out her window. "No big deal. It's not like I planned on this either." Her words pinned through him and made him wince. "…I'm sorry, that came out wrong. I don't mean to be such a downer."

"Don't worry. It's understandable." Nick reached to turn the radio on but was sure to keep the volume low enough for them to be heard. Background music helped to ease the tension. "I'm game for anything you want to do. Really. Go bowling… crash the arcade… see a movie… should we start by eating?"

"Nah…" Macy chimed in. "I'm sure everyone who's going to prom is probably out eating right now… I don't know if I can handle seeing any of them."

Nick nodded, "We'll eat later." Pause. "Was there anything else you wanted to do?"

It took her a moment to say anything – Nick figured it was because she was too nervous to admit it, and he could only assume he was right when she hesitantly said, "…I was actually looking forward to getting prom pictures. And not like, you know, the kinds that my mom took of us in my living room, but. I don't know. From somewhere else – in addition to those."

And then it hit him. Like a brilliant gift from the heavens itself, it hit him. "Gotcha," Nick smirked, and immediately took the next right.

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**_to be continued..._**

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_**Author's Notes: **I'm publishing this as I go along, so the next chapter is still in the works. Hope you all enjoyed this though, and hopefully it'll keep you interested to see what's going to happen next! Reviews are greatly appreciated! :)_


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